Changing the World, One Post at a Time. Inspired Jon Stewart's “Rally to Restore Sanity!"

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Four Days in a Florida Hurricane Shelter

Hurricane Irma struck South Florida early morning on September 10th. I had just returned from a trip to Connecticut and began to focus on the storm three days prior. The lurid media projections of a category five storm charging up the center of the state, touching both coasts, unsettled me. After being unable to book a hotel or flight, and hearing of a traffic jam all the way to Orlando, I opted for a shelter.

Inside the shelter, people were clustered in hallways. The man seated next to me was a retired Harvard professor. In a crescent around us was a twenty-seven member extended family of people of Michoacán heritage.

On the first day the professor and I had a conversation about academia. He told me that he had witnessed a change in the essence of a Harvard education during his tenure. He went on to say that when he began teaching, Harvard sought to produce great Americans who influenced the world through their graciousness. He expressed that this gradually changed over the course of his career where students primarily became concerned with getting good jobs and making a lot of money.

Over the next three days I became aware of how well-mannered and affable the large family around us was during this difficult period. They socialized their children, engaged in polite conversation with everyone, offered fruit, sandwiches, and cell phones to all. They even helped the professor rise to his feet several times.

Except for those at the ends of the hall, who had complained constantly during the ordeal, the Man of Letters thanked everyone for a tolerable experience before he left.

Coming of Age

As a teenager during the late sixties and early seventies, with the Counterculture and multitude of movements for social change and vocal opposition to the war in Viet Nam, I developed an affinity for politics. I grew up in Orange County, California; my grandparents were part of the silent majority. I fondly remember the Snickers bars with Barry Goldwater stickers pasted on them that were passed out by our neighbors during Halloween. The prevailing sentiment was that Democrats or Liberals, as they were often referred to, wanted to tax the hard working folks and spend it recklessly on social programs for the lazy, undeserving citizenry. Republicans wanted to keep the world safe for democracy and preserve justice and the American way. It was that simple.

My interest in politics took me to an eastern university. I discovered the logical flaws in the political philosophy of Karl Marx. Marx presupposed that human nature could be altered within the constructs of a political system; that man maturated in such a system and left to his own devices would act in the interests of the society, the greater good, and "ignore" his complex, self-centered, instinctual nature.

I found solace in Peter Drucker who affirmed that America is "The Last Best Hope." He explained that democracy is a compromise between groups of men within the society and that man exercises his self-interests through the groups he supports or associates with. No group dominates and no group has all of its interests sated within the constructs of the political system; a balance of power on all levels, in society as well as government. It was a little more complex.

But what happens if one group gets all the power and its interests are detrimental to all the other groups? The current Republican administration bears little resemblance to the one I knew as a boy. The Bush Administration is marked by huge tax cuts and obscene deficit spending for the benefit of the rich, no social programs here. Even Pat Robertson acknowledges that America went to war for oil and not democracy. Bush's arrogance in misleading the American people is especially appalling. The hard working folks of today and tomorrow are going to see huge tax increases coupled with further cuts in social programs. And the American way, a fixture of the Republican ethos, may be a thing of the past. It is frightening.

For democracy to work, the citizenry must be educated and informed. Briefly I worked as a substitute teacher at the high school level. Whether they agreed or disagreed, only two of my students had a cursory understanding of the elements in this letter.

And, that is outrageous.

About Me

As an educated man, a citizen, and a person that loves his country, I am shocked and frightened by what transpired during the Bush Administration and what is going on now. The purpose of this blog is not to support the Democratic Party or the Republican Party but rather to expose baseless/dangerous ideology, hypocrisy and elucidate real truths, thru discussion, to save the American Way.